NEW Build - Red Sea Reefer Peninsula 500

PbMan26

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Hello! So this is a new build and my FIRST Salt Water aquarium. Please feel free to point out the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here it goes....

Main Items:
  • Red Sea Reefer Peninsula 500
  • Current USA Marine IC Pro 48" Lights
  • Current USA 1900GPH eFlux DC Pump
  • 2 x Current USA 2100 GPH eFlux Wave Pumps
  • Reef Octopus Elite 200 Skimmer
  • Finnex 500W Digital Deluxe Titanium Heater
  • AquaMaxx NemoLight for refugium

For starters, the only space available for the aquarium was in the basement and basically in a dead space. I didn't want this tank to only be seen passing by. I really enjoy watching the fish. So the obvious answer was... BUILD A BAR! As if setting up an aquarium is not complicated enough... I built an "L" shape bar with the peninsula aquarium next to it. I added some outlets and RO feed through the wall. The bar also houses a UPS with 2hrs of battery backup for the tank.

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Next I assembled the stand that came with Red Sea Peninsula. Pretty simple but it did take a bit of time. Instructions are not very good but its really not that complicated. The stand was much better quality than I expected. The material was solid/heavy and once it was all together, it was really sturdy.

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Once I had the stand built and temped in, I was able to finish up the rest of the bar base. So we'll fast forward past that nightmare.

Now there was a pretty annoying flaw with the Red Sea Reefer assembly instructions. They instructed to get the sump into place, then put on the doors, and then adjust the doors. The location of the hinges made that a near impossible task. So if you plan on getting this Peninsula 500, I urge you to put the doors on, adjust them, remove them, then put the sump in, and then put doors back on.

Getting the tank in place was not that easy. The tank is 5/8" glass so I estimated it to be just over 250lbs. I had to recruit a heavy lifter to help me bear it down the stairs and into the basement.


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Plumbing the tank was pretty simple. The kit Red Sea Reefer provided made it nice and easy. I also then dry fitted all the sump components to ensure they fit well.


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I then added the rock to the aquarium and got that all setup. Since I'm not setup to mix much more than 30gal of salt water at a time, I decided to mix the salt and water inside of the aquarium for the initial startup. That meant I had to add the live sand after I had the salt mixed and to temperature. I used a 4" piece of PVC to get the sand to the bottom of the aquarium with less hassle. It seemed to work pretty well and it took a few days for the water to clear up.

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So right now I am about 3 weeks into the Red Sea Reef Mature Program to get the tank cycled. All seems to be good and I've just introduced some cleaning crew.

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So this completes the build thread for now! I am just about ready to install the Apex Neptune controller as well. Exciting stuff! Thanks for checking this out!

Happy Reefing!



 
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Labridaedicted

Wrassetastic
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Nice start! And I like the placement at the end of the bar!

Any ideas on stocking yet? (It's never too early to start making a list, haha)
 
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PbMan26

PbMan26

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Nice start! And I like the placement at the end of the bar!

Any ideas on stocking yet? (It's never too early to start making a list, haha)
Thank you. Yea my list is ever changing. I want a peaceful tank with corals. So far I'm thinking a yellow tang, a couple clowns, some blue reef chromis, maybe exquisite firefish.
 

Broadfield

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Looking really nice!

Whereabout in Illinois are you located?
 

markwelland

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Great start! Looks awesome. Always take your time stocking and don’t buy on a whim! You’ll end up like me wanting to get Fish out and it’s impossible with a decent scape!

What else are you planning on running off your return pump?
 
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PbMan26

PbMan26

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Great start! Looks awesome. Always take your time stocking and don’t buy on a whim! You’ll end up like me wanting to get Fish out and it’s impossible with a decent scape!

What else are you planning on running off your return pump?

I'm not 100% sure yet. Maybe some carbon or GFO. I'm planning on just seeing what is necessary as I go but I wanted to make sure I could easily add whatever when the time comes.
 

jp_75

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No way it’s your first saltwater tank! Congrats!
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 69 52.7%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 68 51.9%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 34 26.0%
  • None.

    Votes: 29 22.1%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.9%
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